Exclusive: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880 to be released in September

It’s not November, nor it is October. The new flagship will be unveiled in September.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880 in September

According to our sources, NVIDIA will officially announce GeForce GTX 880 somewhere mid-September. NVIDIA is planning a big event for all major press members from around the world. Prepare for boring Maxwell architecture presentation, live streaming, new hardware and smiling Jen-Hsun explaining why you should buy GSYNC monitor and SHIELD tablet.

Of course this live event will only be a paper launch. Cards are expected to hit stores shortly after (late September).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880 certified

GeForce GTX 880 has recently visited a certification office. Graphics cards are sent for validation in the very end of development process. It usually means that the card is ready, and it’s only a matter of weeks before it is available. Please note, it does not mean that AIBs have their cards ready, it only means that the reference board has been validated. PG401 is a reference board for GM204-400, aka GTX 880.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880, 4GB and 256b interface

We also got a word on the specs. Although it is yet unknown how many CUDA cores the 880 will have (thus we are not sharing any numbers this time), but we were told that 256b interface is a fact. GeForce GTX 880 will most likely be released with 4GB GDDR5 memory on board. However, judging from the leaked pictures, we should also expect 8GB models. The only question is, who needs 8GB on a 256bit card?

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880 might be cheap(er)

GeForce GTX 880 might not be the fastest card out there, but it will not hurt your wallet — $400 – $450 is expected MSRP. Of course it is too soon to confirm the price, but it is unlikely that GTX 880 will cost $500.

From a manufacturers perspective, GeForce GTX 880 is using very similar board design to GTX 770. GeForce GTX 880 is of course 780 successor, but it has more similarities to GTX 770 than GTX 780. The difference between GTX 880 and GTX 770 boards is mainly cosmetic. Thus, GM204 is basically a GK104 replacement. However, just because it’s a mid-range GPU replacement, It does not mean it will be slower than some GK110 cards. We do not know how fast GTX 880 is going to be, but it’s safe to assume it will sit above 780 and maybe even 780 Ti.